Mint Primer: What’s as fast as sound, yet moves at a snail’s pace?
- India recently marked a milestone by building a 422m hyperloop test track, aiming for speeds over 1,000km per hour, which could slash travel times from hours to minutes. Work itself remains painfully slow with a commercial hyperloop still years away. Here’s why.
Why this renewed buzz over hyperloop?
On 25 February, the Avishkar Hyperloop student team from IIT-Madras and the railway ministry along with ArcelorMittal, Hindalco and Larsen & Toubro unveiled the Hyperloop test track. Once commissioned, it could cut Delhi-Jaipur travel (250km) to 30 minutes compared with 1 hour by air and 4–5 hours by road. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a $1 million grant and a 40–50km track plan. IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, and IIT-Madras-incubated TuTr Hyperloop are advancing pilots, with TuTr partnering with Swisspod (backed by Elon Musk) and Tata Steel to develop the technology further.
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What exactly is a hyperloop?
In 1799, inventor George Medhurst proposed moving goods through cast-iron pipes using air pressure. In the 1970s, Swiss professor Marcel Juffer spoke about a hyperloop system. Musk resurrected it in 2013, and open-sourced its design. Hyperloop proposes a low-pressure tube system where magnetically levitated pod-like vehicles can transport cargo and passengers at speeds of 1,000-1,200km per hour. Commercial jets cruise at around 900km per hour while magnetic levitation, or maglev, trains like Japan’s L0 Series can reach 600km an hour but still fall short of hyperloop’s projected speeds.
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What are other countries doing?
Switzerland’s EuroTube is building a 3.1km test track, while the Netherlands is constructing the European Hyperloop Center. TUM Hyperloop (Germany) is extending its track to 400m. HyperloopTT has plans in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, while Hyperloop Italia is developing Hyper Transfer. China recently tested its T-Flight hyperloop.
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Why has progress been so slow?
Hyperloop One was shuttered in December 2023 after Richard Branson (co-founder of Virgin Group) withdrew support. Hardt Hyperloop could only achieve about 30km per hour in the initial test over 100m, while China’s T-Flight hyperloop could touch about 620km an hour. Hyperloop construction is estimated to cost $20-150 million per kilometre, more expensive than high-speed rail ($20-50 million per kilometre). And building vacuum-sealed tubes is expensive, and acquisition and government approvals are slow.
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How can the problems be resolved?
Collaboration among startups, governments and industries is key to driving investment. Instead of full-scale networks, short-distance cargo and passenger routes may be the first step. Though hyperloops consume significant energy during acceleration and deceleration, the US Department of Energy says they could be 20% more efficient than current transport. High-speed hyperloop routes for shorter distances could help ease congestion and provide a sustainable alternative to existing travel options.
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